Gavotte and Variations in A minor

Gavotte - Variation I - Variation II (Sarabande)

This Gavotte and Variations in A minor by Johann Pachelbel is a work from the German Baroque period.

It has the following musical form :

• Mm. 1-4 : Gavotte phrase A starting in the main key of A minor and modulating to the relative major key of C Major
• Mm. 5-8 : Gavotte phrase B starting and ending in the main key of A minor
• Mm. 9-12 : Variation I - Phrase A : sixteenth notes in the right hand
• Mm. 13-16 : Variation I - Phrase B : again with sixteenth notes in the right hand
• Mm. 17-24 : Variation II : Sarabande - Phrase A : quiet eighth notes in the right hand
• Mm. 25-32 : Variation II : Sarabande - Phrase B : faster-moving rhythmic pattern leading to the final cadence in A minor

Please note that following Variation II, the player may repeat the Gavotte (the first eight measures).

Please note that the editor has added in this score suggestions for the correct realization of the ornaments in accordance with Baroque performance practice.

All trills start on the upper note, ON the beat.

In the cadential trills in measures 4, 8, 20, 24 and 32, the dotted quarter note is played as if it were double dotted, thus making the short notes at the end of trills uniformly sixteenth notes throughout the piece.

Also, the chords at the end of phrases may be broken slightly, as was customarily done in the Baroque period.

Finally, the dynamics in this score are editorial and should be considered as mere suggestions to the player, as Pachelbel himself did not provide any dynamics in his manuscript.

Duration : 02:40

Source : Johann Pachelbel, Miscellaneous Keyboard Pieces.